Jodie and Bill were two of my very first clients, when I threw myself head-first into the scary world of equine photography, around three years ago. Following that, two years ago, I photographed Jodie and Terry’s wedding at The Rivenhall Hotel in 2012.

Jodie has always had the idea that she wanted a shoot in her wedding dress, with Bill, but as is such a common theme, it was just something we didn’t get around to until now. And then last year, Jodie’s friends, Next of Kin, were auditioning for The X Factor at the same time as my brother, so we reconnected over that, and finally, this summer, put a date in the diary. And I’m so glad we did it now, because I love shooting on open stubble fields!

I knew this shoot would be great fun, because at her first photoshoot, Jodie was more than willing to canter, bareback, in a dress, across an open field. So, finding ourselves in a similar situation, but with a much bigger dress, Jodie played the part of our very own Runaway Bride! Just without the actual running away.

And I’m so glad that Terry was up for donning his dinner suit and getting involved, too, because I just love the shot of them kissing, with the backdrop of the sun setting.

Jodie has quite a refreshing view when it comes to her wedding dress and whereas some people are totally precious about their expensive gowns, Jodie’s, was covered in some kind of green make-up.

“You’ll have to edit that out. I wore it for Halloween,” she laughed. “I was a zombie bride.” Well, obviously! But clearly, Jodie is determined to make the most of the dress that most women pay a fortune for and then wear once in a lifetime, and I think that’s such a great attitude.

Bill was, for the second time running, an outstanding model. He didn’t even bat an eyelid when Jodie asked him to canter across the stubble, dress flapping in the wind. But it did make Terry and I smile (a little nervously) when we could hear her shouting “I can’t stop!” from the other end of the field. But we took the fact that she also couldn’t stop laughing as a good sign. And when she came tearing back towards us, grinning from ear to ear, we assumed all was fine.

I love working Jodie, and whoever else she drags into her shoots (horses, dogs, Terry, etc.) and this is a great example of how, over the years, people can go from clients to friends. So, what’s next, Jodie??